About US
Be There Wisconsin
Veteran Suicide Prevention Task Force
“Someone dies of suicide every 10 hours in Wisconsin, and 1 in 5 of those deaths are a Veteran. Help us prevent Veteran Suicide!”
– Dr. Bert Berger, BeThereWis Task Force Chair
The Veteran Suicide Prevention Task Force began in early 2020 with the urgent need to decrease Veteran suicides in Wisconsin. The task force is chaired by Dr. Bert Berger, Chief of the Mental Health Division of the Zablocki VA Medical Center and in collaboration with the War Memorial Center, Veterans Health Coalition, Medical College of Wisconsin, and many community partners passionate about helping Wisconsin veterans.
The goals of the task force include increasing public awareness, increase and improving access to resources that help Veterans in crisis, having clinical resources readily available to all Veteran and conducting research to inform policy and systemic changes to decrease veteran suicides. See below for more information about each of these divisions.
Public Health Messaging
- Our Public Health Messaging Action Area team works hard to get make the public aware of suicide prevention for veterans through a local branch of the national “be there” campaign. Click below to see our recent messages and media events.
Research & Policy
- Our Research & Policy Action Area team is conducting research about ways to decrease suicide rates among Wisconsin Veterans through policy and program change. Click below to learn more about this project.
Clinical Resources
- Connecting Service Members, Veterans, and their family and friends in crisis to appropriate mental health services at the VA and throughout the community with providers who understand military/veteran issues and culture. Click below to learn more about these resources.
Community Outreach
- Outreach and Whole Health engages Service Members, Veterans, and their loved ones in using healthcare benefits, provide improved access to these resources and participate in health living behaviors as highlighted by the Veteran Mental Health Summit. Click below to learn more about important outreach efforts in our community.